Power Rankings: Knicks No. 9

In ESPN.com NBA analyst Marc Stein's latest Power Rankings, New York is ranked ninth, up five spots from last week. The Knicks feasted on some weak teams in the past four games to stay in the race for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Finishing second would give the Knicks home-court advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Here is Stein's reasoning for his most recent rankings:

"The fact that pretty much no one in the East outside of Miami is playing with any sort of sustained quality has enabled the Knicks -- even with all those injuries -- to stay right there in the race for the No. 2 seed. They capitalized on last week's cushy schedule to rediscover the 3-ball, too."